FanSided Offseason Simulation: Phillies final move and wrap-up
With the FanSided Offseason Simulation in the books, where do the Phillies stand moving forward after making a bevy of moves?
DISCLAIMER: The following article pertains to the FanSided MLB Offseason simulation and in no way reflects real events.
The Phillies made one last acquisition before the FanSided MLB Winter Meetings ended Wednesday night, signing infielder Cliff Pennington to a minor-league contract. If he makes the major-league team, he will make one million dollars. He also has the option to opt out after April 30 if he is not on the major-league team by then.
Pennington’s signing was the fourth and final signing of the meetings for Philadelphia. They signed Alex Cobb, Tommy Hunter, and Seth Smith on Tuesday. They also made four trades, sending off Cesar Hernandez, Tommy Joseph, Cameron Rupp, and Parker Bridwell (acquired in the Hernandez trade) for various players.
With all these moves now in the books, where does it leave the Phillies heading into 2018?
Pitching Staff
The biggest problem the Phils had heading into the offseason was in their pitching staff. The problem? They ran out of pitchers. By the end of the year, it was Aaron Nola, a bunch of rookies, and journeyman Henderson Alvarez in the rotation. The bullpen was much stronger than earlier in the season, but it still comprised almost entirely of young players.
The team set out to acquire some help in the offseason and did just that. Signing Cobb gives them a solid No. 2 starter behind Nola for the next few years. They also picked up rotation help via trade as Joseph and Rupp both brought back major-league starting pitchers in Ryan Merritt from the Indians and Steven Brault from the Pirates. While they aren’t top-level starters, they are better options than many of the starters Philadelphia employed in 2017.
The bullpen also got a veteran boost with the signing of Hunter, who should be a set-up man for Hector Neris. The added depth of starting pitchers also gives the team more flexibility if they decide to move Vince Velasquez (who they shopped a bit) to the bullpen.
With these acquisitions, the pitching staff is in better shape compared to the end of the season.
Infield
The infield saw the most overhaul of any position group at the meetings. Three Opening Day starters from 2017 were traded to various teams. Hernandez was sent to the Angels, Joseph to the Indians, and Rupp to the Pirates.
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All of these moves were motivated by logjams at their various positions. Hernandez was the easiest to trade of the middle infielders and fetched a decent return. There were better options behind the plate in Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp, so Rupp was expendable. The same thing happened to Joseph at first base as Rhys Hoskins stole the show in the last two months of the season.
On Opening Day, J.P. Crawford and Freddy Galvis should be the starters up the middle with Pennington, Jesmuel Valentin, or Pedro Florimon backing them up. This will allow No. 3 prospect Scott Kingery to get his feet wet in Triple-A before (hopefully) coming up to the majors midseason. The team will still have to find someone as a backup first baseman, but those aren’t hard to find.
Outfield
The outfield saw the least change of the three main position groups, and rightly so. The starting three of Odubel Herrera, Aaron Altherr, and Nick Williams were among the team’s most productive hitters. Don’t fix what ain’t broke, right? The only significant addition to the major-league team they made in the outfield was signing Seth Smith to be the fourth outfielder.
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The Nationals reached out to the Phillies to try and trade for one of those three, but that conversation ended almost immediately when it became clear they did not want to part with any of them.
The team did pick up two outfield prospects via trade. The Angels sent their top prospect, Jahmai Jones, to Philadelphia in the Hernandez trade. The other player the Angels sent, Parker Bridwell, was flipped to the Brewers in exchange for Kyle Wren.
Wren could compete for the fifth outfield position with Cameron Perkins and Roman Quinn.
He hit well in Triple-A last year, but could head back there again. Meanwhile, the 20-year-old Jones will probably start the year in High-A Clearwater after playing just 41 High-A games in 2017. However, he should get a chance at Double-A Reading by the end of the season.
Next: Bob McClure hired by the Twins
Remember, these moves were part of a simulation (it’s all an illusion). Could the Phils theoretically these moves? Yes. Will they? Maybe. Guess we have to wait and see.
